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ENG3U SUMMATIVE Literature Circle – THE DYSTOPIAN NOVEL
For the final summative in the Literature Circle unit, each student will be responsible to read George Orwell’s Animal Farm and obtain a copy by either checking it out of the library, borrowing it, or purchasing it. Bear in mind that you will need to have the copy in your possession for a total of 5 – 6 weeks. Each student will create a comparative analysis piece between their novel for Literature Circle and Animal Farm.
Reading with Purpose
While reading through your novels, consider and take very specific notes (with page number references from the novel) on these specific aspects on a chapter-by-chapter basis:
· Follow the protagonist in your novel. Is he/she static or dynamic? Round or flat? What qualities best shape his/her character? How do we see specific evidence of this throughout the novel?
· With what specific major conflicts is the protagonist faced throughout the novel (internal – person vs himself; external – person vs person, person vs nature, person vs society, etc…)? How do these conflicts resolve? Specifically shape their character?
· When you consider both the changes in the protagonist’s character and the impact of conflict on their life, what major theme(s) are being developed by the author? How might these be connected to concerns the author might be warning the reader about our world regarding politics, religion, scientific advancements, morality?
Assignment
(A) You must create a visual response that shows the intertwining relationship between (1) the protagonist’s character – the full spectrum of traits that best characterize him/her, (2) the internal/external conflicts that shape the protagonist’s character, (3) the prevailing theme(s) that the author comments on through the development of your character, and (4) a specific connection to our world regarding politics, religion, scientific advancements, morality (NOTE: this must be a modern connection related to events from 2005 – present. Anything related to events already discussed such as WWII, Hitler, etc., can be included but may not be the focal point). This will be done in a comparative sense between both novels.
Possible visual responses:
· diorama
· painting
· drawing/sketches
· collage of symbolic images
· collection of symbolic objects
· video montage
· a choice of your own (approved by the teacher)
(B) Accompanying the visual piece will be an in-depth multi-paragraph analysis of the work – one detailing how it reflects the development of the protagonists’ character with reference to specific incidents in the novels, a second detailing how it reflects the impact of specific conflicts on the protagonists’ character, and a third one that details how it reflects the prevailing theme(s) the author(s) raise(s) with reference to specific incidents in the novel, and a final one related to world events warned of by and through the work of the author(s).
(C) Students will be responsible to make a 10-15 minute oral presentation connecting their visual piece to their analyses.
(D) Students will submit their journal of specific note-taking – specifically related to observations on character, conflict and theme – NOT PLOT SUMMARIZING!
First, what is Utopian Fiction?
Utopia – The term comes from a highly satirical novel (of sorts) by Thomas More and the first version was published in England in 1516. The title itself actually comes from a combination of two Greek words and literally means “no place” (a subtle bit of humour from Thomas More). However, the term has come to mean a ‘paradise’ of some sort. More’s Utopia offered a description of an ideal society based upon notions of equality, social harmony, economic prosperity, and political stability.
More presents his story as an account told to him by another European who had traveled there, and the satirical edge is introduced by the comparisons made between ‘Utopia’ and the far less ideal social, economic, and political situation in England in the early 1500s.
Hence, utopian fiction refers to any narrative piece that is set in a truly ideal society. As such a society inherently lacks a ready basis for conflict, which is a core element in fiction that captivates the interest of the reader, relatively few such novels exist.
What is Dystopian Fiction?
· In its most basic sense, you could say that a dystopia is the opposite of a utopia, referring to fictional societies that are incredibly imperfect, lacking the harmonious and egalitarian qualities of life depicted in utopias. However, they are not always exactly opposite, in that dystopias often contain many of the same elements as utopias—such as intense measures of social control—but these elements are taken to horrific extremes, with emphasis upon their negative effects.
· The term has been around since the 19th century and was coined by English philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill in 1868. As a literary genre of fiction, it really took off in the 20th Century and became very prevalent in the years after World War II as a result of the rise of totalitarian states on the right and the left, such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin. For example, George Orwell’s 1984, written in 1948, depicts ‘Big Brother’ and the ‘Thought Police’, elements of a profoundly oppressive state bent on maintaining absolute control over individuals (including their thoughts).
· Other 20th Century conditions that are reflected in dystopian literature are environmental damage (the side-effects of increasing industrialization) and rapid advances in various technologies (i.e. computers, robotics, nuclear weapons, etc.).
· Like utopian writing, there is often a prescriptive element in dystopian novels as they almost always offer some kind of warning (often implicit) of what might happen should present social, economic, or political trends continue. In fact, dystopian fiction tends to reflect the fears and anxieties of the cultural context from which it emerges.
***WARNING BEFORE READING: If you have never read a true dystopian novel before, take care!!! You cannot read it as you would an ordinary novel. If you read simply for plot and character interaction, you will be angered and upset by the horrible world you see, but may miss the author’s point. True dystopias must be read for ‘the world’ they present, not the characters, and the reader must continually have an eye towards the author’s comments on society. Let the characters ‘show you their world’; you will likely be disturbed, enraged, and perhaps even terrified, but should also come away with much deeper insights and reflections about ‘your own world’, and the future implications of current trends.
RECOMMENDED READING STRATEGIES:
NOTE: When taking written notes while you read your selection, the following will help you deepen your focus and improve your ability to recall key elements. Keeping the questions below in mind may help you stay alert for important thematic aspects of your text, above and beyond the superficial details of plot and character:
· Who’s telling the story? Why that narrator instead of someone else?
· What is the setting (time, place, atmosphere)? Is this important, or could the novel occur anywhere?
· What aspects of the social order are utopian (if any) and which are dystopian?
· Are there any ‘rebels’ in your novel who oppose society? What are they rebelling against and why?
· What messages or main themes are emerging in the novel? How are these being conveyed?
· At various stages of your reading, what predictions might you make about the probable outcome of the novel? What surprising twists upset your predictions?
· What similarities or parallels are there between the fictional world of the novel and our world?
· How ‘realistic’ is the novel? How does the presence or absence of realism help to convey the author’s message(s)?
Pay particular attention to the following elements in the dystopian society described in your text:
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v Loss of rights
v Governance
v Values
v Gender issues
v Value of human life
v Use of education
v Utilitarian attitudes towards humans
v Types of controls
v Degree of control
v Role of technology
v Dehumanizing factors
v Abuse of punishment
v Methods of controlling people
v Family structures
v Relationship strictures
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ENG 3U -- LIST OF DYSTOPIAN NOVELS (BY AUTHOR)
1. Atwood, Margaret. A Handmaid’s Tale -- explores themes of women in subjugation, and the various means by which they gain agency, against a backdrop of the establishment of a totalitarian theocratic state. sumptuary laws (essentially, dress codes) play a key role in the form of social control in the new society
2. Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake -- the protagonist appears to be the last human being on Earth, but he's not entirely alone – as a result of genetic engineering, strange hybrid beasts such as wolvogs, pigoons and rakunks are roaming freely, and a mysterious group of what he calls Crakers lives
3. Auster, Paul. In the Country of Last Things -- a haunting picture of a devastated world – a futuristic world - but one which chillingly shadows our own.
4. Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes -- an ironical tale about the relationship between men and animals -- depicts a world where humankind has lost its position as the dominant species, and apes rule over human savages.
5. Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange -- in a futuristic city governed by a repressive, totalitarian super-state, a charming young sociopath is jailed for murder and volunteers for an experimental brainwashing treatment to reform criminals in exchange for a shorter sentence
6. Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -- an entertaining and imaginative look at the possibilities and pitfalls the pursuit of artificial intelligence may hold for the distant future -- a "what if" scenario of extremely advanced androids that are almost indistinguishable from humans
7. Harris, Robert. Fatherland -- a powerful novel of reincarnation and a deadly alternate future, the novel explores alternative realities within the mainstream, in this case a dystopian future in which Hitler has won World War II and all non-Aryans have been eliminated
8. Huxley, Aldous. Ape and Essence -- deals with a group of scientists from New Zealand who go to North America and try to explore what is left after a Third World War in the year 2108
9. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World -- a shocking analysis of a scientific dictatorship – a prophetic fantasy that scrutinizes threats to humanity, such as overpopulation, propaganda, and the use of chemical persuasion to control people
10. Huxley, Aldous. Island -- shipwrecked on a forbidden island, the protagonist discovers it has developed a system of government, of society, of life that provides its people the greatest chance of happiness based on the Platonic model but lacking a warrior class and had little communication with the outside world
11. McCullough, Colleen. Creed for the Third Millenium -- future America is a cold and ravaged place, devastated by despair and enduring winter -- a magnetic, compassionate idealist is found who promises to deliver hope in a hopeless time, so an attempt is made to mold and manipulate him
12. Orwell, George. 1984 -- depicts a totalitarian society of the future, Oceania, ruled by an omnipotent dictator called Big Brother -- people's thoughts are controlled as tightly as their actions by the “thought police” and the use of constant propaganda
13. Rand, Ayn. Anthem -- set in a distant collectivist future, when every form and emblem of individualism has been erased and society has reverted to a pre-industrial level -- its hero, a scientist in a world where the pursuit of knowledge is a crime, discovers the meaning of individual freedom
14. Thomson, Rupert. Divided Kingdom -- in this brave new world, the country's entire population is forcibly reorganized and relocated into autonomous zones according to psychology, or the four humors: choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic and sanguine
15. Vidal, Gore. Messiah -- a fictional memoir and satire of a messianic cult promulgated by the mass media
16. Vonnegut Jr., Kurt. Player Piano -- contemplation of 20th-century horrors, in particular, dehumanization in a technological society -- the machines have completed their triumph, dispossessing not only the manual laborers but the white collar workers as well
17. Wyndham, John. The Chrysalids -- set in the future world, devastated by nuclear war, survivors in puritanical communities banish or kill all mutants, human and non-human
18. Zamyatin, Yevgeny. We -- the journal of a ‘true believer’ in a futuristic society called “OneState” ruled completely by The Benefactor is maintained by a Number known as D-503, who has great responsibility, as designer of OneState's greatest scientific achievement, the INTEGRAL – he becomes saddled with a disastrous condition for any Number to have—a soul